Most birds are monogamous: it is when they form simple pairs of one male and one female on one territory. Sexual selection is manifest in the initial stages of competition among males for a breeding territory and then in the decisions by females to reside with particular males on their property. Where they can control high-quality territories, some species such as the Red-winged Blackbird of North America are polygynous, often pairing with two or more females. They also exhibit striking sexual dimorphism (the differences in appearance between males and females of the same species, such as in color, shape, size, and structure, that are caused by the inheritance of one or the other sexual pattern in the genetic material) and large variation in their sexual success.
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